weight retention??

Hey all, I have a question for you experienced guys here. Once drying the product, how much in percentage do you feel you should loose?
On our first grow we grew ocean pearl and to our shock we ended up with 52 ounces from 2 plants. Absolutely blew us a way as we didnt expect to get nearly that much.
Now we have gone to a different strain which we call here in Ox "Adelaide red". Grow went really well and bloom went pretty good as well. We have only taken the tops as they were well and truly ready (did flush 1st) then put back on to bloom with 10 hours light. W are using liquid lead as the product to give it the extra weight which is the same as oz tonic and full bud, or so we are told. However, we will be lucky to get 30 ounces outta this lot after drying.
When we weighed our first pick we got approx 1.5kg wet (40oz?) Looking at it all now we will be lucky to get 10-15oz dry out of it.
What is the best method or treatment to help retain the weight in the final stages?
Now, something i wasnt doing either was flushing the roots at every nute change in bloom to get rid of the excess salts. Could this affect it? I now religously flush them at each change and also test the CF level of the flush water as well. CF of fresh nutes on bloom I run at 2.8 but it drops seriously almost overnite as the plants obviously feed but the water is slow to be taken up as well. Ph level on bloom is between 6.5 and 6.7 and on grow between 5.8 and 6.3.
the nutrients products we are using are as follows: a single grow mix instead of a A & B mix, same with the Bloom mix, oxyplus of course for sterilizing and oxygenating, Budlink, alaska pure (mainly a liquid potash product), monsta bud and either of the extra yield products such as Liquid lead, ozi tonic or full bud. Are we missing something here guys and girls?
We tried doing northern lights but they gave us nothing but problems, but that may have been the end of a strain so maybe a weaker plant by that time.
Hope you can help please....

Not a hydro guy but typically figure losing about 2/3 to 3/4 weight from chop to dry. If the buds are fluffy it could be that they weren't getting the right nutrients in the right amounts, or maybe even heat stress, or just could be a bunk strain. The final yield as well as the structure of the buds (airy and fluffy vs. tight and dense) is very strain dependent, and it can also take time and several grows with clones to dial things in for each individual plant.

Maybe a hydro guy can comment more on your feeding methods to see if there are any possible improvements to make. Hope this helps a little. :jointsmile:

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Originally Posted by bigtopsfinn

Not a hydro guy but typically figure losing about 2/3 to 3/4 weight from chop to dry. If the buds are fluffy it could be that they weren't getting the right nutrients in the right amounts, or maybe even heat stress, or just could be a bunk strain. The final yield as well as the structure of the buds (airy and fluffy vs. tight and dense) is very strain dependent, and it can also take time and several grows with clones to dial things in for each individual plant.

Maybe a hydro guy can comment more on your feeding methods to see if there are any possible improvements to make. Hope this helps a little. :jointsmile:

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Cheers for your reply mate, I really didnt think we would lose that much especially where an extra yield product is being added. As you say tho, bit of trial and error to get the right formula to each individual strain I guess. Practice makes perfect I spose :thumbsup:

BTF is right...

If you did that well with your other plants then its most likely just the different strain.

They have cash crop strains that are bred to have huge weight and theres headstash strains that give much better meds. Personally every bud ive had that was fluffy and wispy were very good. I just recently chopped some automatics and one plant had a wispy fluffy pheno and was the best smoke of the 3 plants that were the same strain.

I didnt know that heat stress could also cause fluffy buds...interesting.

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Originally Posted by GetThisOrDie

BTF is right...

If you did that well with your other plants then its most likely just the different strain.

They have cash crop strains that are bred to have huge weight and theres headstash strains that give much better meds. Personally every bud ive had that was fluffy and wispy were very good. I just recently chopped some automatics and one plant had a wispy fluffy pheno and was the best smoke of the 3 plants that were the same strain.

I didnt know that heat stress could also cause fluffy buds...interesting.

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We have tried 3 different strains now, the most recent being Adelaide red. We didnt have much success with Northern lights but in saying that I feel that we may have got the end of its lifespan as far as clones go and just too weak. Our 1st, as I said earlier was ocean pearl. It turned out as you said with one of yours, light and fluffy but we got by fay the best yield in finished product. We nearly fell over when we got 52 oz's out of only 2 plants. So we are now chasing some ocean pearl but im thinking we may start by germinating some seeds? That way we may get a good strong strain. Does this sound right other than getting clones from a clone from a clone sorta thing?
The Adelaide red were really nice firm heads etc but it certainly didnt retain the weight that I expected it to... oh well...NEXT
As some one once told me... " to try is to risk failure, not to try is to guarantee it!"

The genetics dont get weaker from clones... theres some clone only strains that have been around for many many years and every one of them can be traced back to an original mother. The reason they keep the clones around is because they are great weed. Clones are exact genetic copies of the mother.

52 ozs is alot from two plants. Great job.

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Originally Posted by GetThisOrDie

52 ozs is alot from two plants. Great job.

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yea i would have to see pictures to really believe it. Is that the dry weight?

No doubt put up the pics of the 52 oz's. As far as the plant at the end of giving clones, GToD is correct. We ran a mother for just over a year and finally retired her because of the big ass bush it was turning into lol. Took 1 clone off of her and that is growing as the new Mother :thumbsup: The take a clone from a clone from a clone does work but if your timing isnt right the clone could be ready but your system might still be in use. Clones can be put into stasis by using the fridge, I myself have kept clones in the fridge up to 7 weeks and they still rooted and grew with no problems.

" Clones can be put into stasis by using the fridge, I myself have kept clones in
the fridge up to 7 weeks and they still rooted and grew with no problems "

This is interesting, care to elaborate ?
what was the form of the clone ? Leaf or stem ?
Did you treat it first then put in the frig ?
Was the clone sealed in plastic bag with or without air ?

Z

clone is same as any other one just leave a lil longer than normal. No treatment just cut it and in the bag it goes. Dont try to put air in or take air out just zip bag closed and pop it in the crisper drawer of the fridge.

Yeah TT, I've got some research to do about clones...where to cut.
how to cut... how to treat the cut on growing plant / donor .
Should the clone be treated at cut time or when one is ready to start growing.

....like how do people ship'm ?
Zeff

Clones get "treated" when you go to root them. When you first cut them put them into bag and then fridge. How do you ship them?? You might want to check rules of this site before asking that or related things to many times.

I put them in a plastic container in a plastic bag with wet paper towels. Maybe some bubble wrap to keep them from banging around. If you had a way to refidgerate them would last longer. U.S. mail from east coast to west coast 3 days. All cuttings rooted.

You should of seen the look on the mailmans face when I walked in with a plastic container wrapped in silver duct tape. Looked like a friggin bomb from a terrorist. Never go to the post office fully baked. LOL

After all they are just cuttings. All you can do is try.